Biology students take learning to new level: 'I call it my thinking cap'

Audrey Vaugh and Mirabela Schleidt, ninth graders in Fort Walton Beach High School honors biology, pose in their swim caps decorated to look like the human brain. The 15-year-olds were two of 75 students in Neely Calhoun's class to wear the caps Friday at school.

Published: Friday, April 12, 2013 at 01:56 PM.

But that’s what honors biology students at Fort Walton Beach High School will do for a few extra points on their exam.

Schleidt, 15, was one of 75 students tasked with decorating swim caps as a way to grasp the functions and structure of the human brain.

“I call it my thinking cap,” the ninth-grader said. “It’s very interactive, so it’s good at helping to understand the brain.

“I can point out the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, where the part that smells is, the part that reads.”

Neely Calhoun’s honors biology students were tasked with decorating the swim caps with permanent markers for extra credit in hopes that they will retain the knowledge for their standard exams.

“It’s hands-on, which is important for this time of year when they start wanting to slack off,” Calhoun said. “It’s a big deal for them to remember what they learn. With this, they have to be able to label the parts of the brain. I think this is better than a diagram.”

Calhoun told students if they wanted to earn their extra credit they would have to answer a brain-related question for four of their teachers and one administrator.

Audrey Vaugh, 15, said she was uncertain about wearing her colorful cap in the school’s hallways. However, she said the project was a great way to get a grasp of what was going on inside her head.

“You can see it three dimensionally,” the ninth-grader said. “This is better than using a piece of paper.”

But that’s what honors biology students at Fort Walton Beach High School will do for a few extra points on their exam.

Schleidt, 15, was one of 75 students tasked with decorating swim caps as a way to grasp the functions and structure of the human brain.

“I call it my thinking cap,” the ninth-grader said. “It’s very interactive, so it’s good at helping to understand the brain.

“I can point out the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, where the part that smells is, the part that reads.”

Neely Calhoun’s honors biology students were tasked with decorating the swim caps with permanent markers for extra credit in hopes that they will retain the knowledge for their standard exams.

“It’s hands-on, which is important for this time of year when they start wanting to slack off,” Calhoun said. “It’s a big deal for them to remember what they learn. With this, they have to be able to label the parts of the brain. I think this is better than a diagram.”

Calhoun told students if they wanted to earn their extra credit they would have to answer a brain-related question for four of their teachers and one administrator.

Audrey Vaugh, 15, said she was uncertain about wearing her colorful cap in the school’s hallways. However, she said the project was a great way to get a grasp of what was going on inside her head.

“You can see it three dimensionally,” the ninth-grader said. “This is better than using a piece of paper.”